LA Gas Leak: tell lawmakers to pass emergency legislation now!

A massive gas leak on the outskirts of Los Angeles has been spewing climate pollution since October 2015. The leak has raised public health concerns, driven thousands of families from their homes, and has significant impacts on California’s progress on limiting greenhouse gas pollution that contributes to climate change.

At its peak, the leak was spewing climate pollution equivalent to the daily emissions from 7 million cars – or the equivalent of six coal-fired power plants, or three-quarters of the emissions from the state’s entire oil refining industry.

And while the threat to our global climate is significant, the leak's most immediate impacts are being felt by the families of Porter Ranch, California. Thousands of residential homes stand within close proximity to the leaking gas well. Tens of thousands of families have been evacuated; public schools have been relocated; and children have fallen ill.

News of the Porter Ranch Gas Leak is now making national headlines on a daily basis, but you and I know that this isn't a new story. Nearly a year ago, I wrote in this space about problems with state oversight of oil and gas wells. The Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) is California's official agency for protecting the public from hazards related to the fossil fuel industry, and yet here we are again: In harm's way.

We have a big leak to stop, but we have an even bigger problem to solve. When voters ignore and/or put up with DOGGR's massive failures, there are serious consequences. Today, that couldn't be clearer.